Questions from parents

Is MindRocket really free? What’s the catch?

Yes, it is free. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions and no “premium” levels. MindRocket was first made for one 8-year-old and then shared with other families. There is no catch: we don’t collect personal data, so there is nothing to sell.

Are there ads, chat or online leaderboards?

No. There are no ads, no chat, no online leaderboards and no strangers. The only competition is with your own family on the same device, in the Grown-up Duel, and with Bip’s honest “about” comparisons with typical grown-up scores.

What data do you collect about my child?

Nothing that identifies them. The nickname and avatar your child picks stay on your device, and so does their progress. We use no cookies, no analytics trackers and no third-party services; even the fonts come from our own server.

If you turn on a family code, our server keeps an encrypted copy of game progress that it cannot read. Details are on our privacy page.

Can grown-ups play too?

Yes, and kids love it. In the Grown-up Duel you pass one device back and forth: the same puzzle for both of you, best of 3. Grown-up Records compare your child’s best scores with typical grown-up scores, always as “about”: for example, most grown-ups remember about 7 numbers. And in Teach a Grown-up, your child teaches you the memory palace, then you race.

What age is MindRocket for?

Children of about 6 to 10. It was designed with a grade-3 child (about 8 years old) in mind, but every game starts easy and adapts, so a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old each get a level that fits. Plenty of grown-ups enjoy it too, especially when they lose a Duel. Our guide to brain games for 8 year olds explains what to look for at that age.

Can my child play if they can’t read yet?

Yes. Everything is spoken aloud, every game starts with a 3-second demo, and each screen has at most 8 words, together with icons. Children who don’t read yet can play on their own. A few higher levels use written words, for example matching a word with its picture, and those words are read aloud too.

How much screen time is it? Can I set a limit?

A Daily Mission is 4 short games of about 2–3 minutes each, followed by a Brain Break: stretch, drink some water, look far away. That is 10–15 minutes a day.

In the parent area you set a daily time limit. When it is reached, MindRocket says “See you tomorrow, astronaut!” and stops. Short, regular sessions work better than long ones anyway.

How do the levels work?

Every game has levels 1 to 100 for its skill. Two right answers in a row make the next round a little harder; one mistake makes it a bit easier. That keeps your child at about 80% success: hard, but I can do it.

Day 1 starts with a short warm-up to find a good starting point, and you can also set starting levels in the parent area. Mistakes show a quick replay of the right answer, never a sad buzzer, and Bip praises effort and strategy rather than “being smart”.

Will MindRocket raise my child’s IQ?

No, and be careful with any app that promises it. These games train memory, focus and quick thinking. Children get better at the skills they practise; no game raises IQ by magic.

Research on brain training finds clear improvement on the practised tasks, but only weak evidence for broad effects such as a higher IQ or better grades. What MindRocket can do is make practice of useful skills short and fun, teach real memory strategies (see our memory palace guide), and give your child the good feeling of getting better at something.

Does it work offline? How do I install it?

After the first visit the game works without internet. You can also install it like an app, without an app store:

• iPhone or iPad: open it in Safari, tap Share, then “Add to Home Screen”.
• Android: in Chrome, open the menu and tap “Install app” or “Add to Home screen”.
• Computer: in Chrome or Edge, click the install icon in the address bar. In Safari on a Mac, choose File, then “Add to Dock”.

Which devices does it work on?

Any recent phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date browser: iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Chromebooks, Windows PCs and Macs. A tablet is the most comfortable size for small fingers. Nothing needs to be downloaded from an app store.

Why does Bip’s voice sound different on different devices?

MindRocket uses the speech voice built into your device instead of recorded audio or an online voice service. That keeps the game small, lets it talk offline and means MindRocket itself never sends your child’s game text anywhere. The downside is that every device has its own voices.

MindRocket picks a clear English voice that runs on the device itself whenever one is available. Some browsers on computers also offer online voices run by the browser maker; MindRocket prefers on-device voices, and you can see and change the voice in the parent settings. Installing an extra English voice in your device’s settings often gives a nicer one.

Progress disappeared on our iPhone or iPad. Why?

Safari can clear the data a website has saved if the site hasn’t been opened for 7 days of Safari use. It is an Apple privacy feature, and MindRocket keeps progress in exactly that storage.

There are two fixes: install MindRocket on the Home Screen (Share, then “Add to Home Screen”), which Safari does not clear in the same way, or turn on a family code so progress can be restored on any device.

What is the family code?

An optional way to keep progress in sync between devices, for example a tablet and a parent’s phone, or simply to have a backup. You turn it on in the parent area.

Your device encrypts the game progress with the code before anything is sent, so our server only stores an unreadable copy with no names. Backups that nobody opens for about 13 months are deleted automatically. Keep the code somewhere safe: because we can’t read it, we can’t recover it for you.

How do I see or delete my child’s data?

Everything lives on your device, so you are in control. Open the parent area (hold the grown-ups button for 3 seconds, then enter your PIN) to see progress, export the data as a file or delete it. If you use a family code, you can delete the online backup there too. Clearing this site’s data in your browser, or removing the installed app, also removes everything from that device.